118 Song Birds. [ZOE 
heard in March, a short time before the birds leave for their breed- 
ing grounds. The song is indistinguishable from that of the East- 
ern bird. y 
If Bryant’s sparrow (Ammodramus sandwichensis bryanti) can be 
said to have a song, it utters it during the latter half of February 
and in March. Perched on a fence or telegraph wire near the bay 
shore, the bird utters a queer wheezy attempt at a song, which 
makes one think the performer must have a severe cold. 
By the first of March or a little earlier the green-backed gold finch 
(Spinus psaltria) begins to sing. Its song is a very pleasing, rap- 
turous, canary-like burst of bird music, frequently uttered while the 
bird is on the wing, although this habit is by no means so charac- 
teristic of this species as of the house finch. The bird sings all 
spring very commonly, and to a less extent throughout the summer, 
while even in the autumn its song is sometimes heard. 
The California shrike (Lanius ludovicianus gambeli) is a bird 
which we would never think of as a songster. It has a song, how- 
ever, which I have heard uttered on at least two occasions, once in 
the early spring and again in fall. It corresponds to the song 
ascribed to the butcher bird (Lanius borealis ) rather than to the 
note of the white-rumped shrike (L. /udovicianus). On February 
16, 1888, a mild spring - like day, a shrike was seen ona telegraph 
wire, warbling apparently to itself, as no emotion was shown, and 
its mate was not in sight. Again on October 18, of the same year, a 
shrike on a telegraph wire uttered a low liquid trill, frequently re- 
peated and very sweet. While watching the bird an American 
pipit (Anthus pensilvanicus) flew overhead, uttering its call note 
and the shrike responded with a very good imitation. 
The lutescent warbler ( Helminthophila celata lutescens) is not so 
early a singer as most of the species hitherto considered. Its song 
begins in the latter half of March and continues throughout April. 
It is a simple high-pitched trill, somewhat resembling the song ot 
the chipping sparrow (.Spzzella socialis ). The Oregon towhee be- 
gins singing about the last of March and continues for only about a - 
month. The song consists of a short trill, usually terminated by a 
wheezy note. It is one of the poorest of our songsters. Among the 
April singers the note of the rufous crowned sparrow ( Peucea 
ruficeps) may occasionally be heard from the Artemisia hillsides, 
although it is quite a rare bird in this vicinity. I have never de- 
